Car Sharing

An example

Vikki said she had seriously considered ditching her car in favour of one of these schemes, and it turns out that she was looking at Whipcar, so I took another look.

This scheme works by individuals offering their car, keeping ownership, and setting their desired price for rental. You can put your numberplate and postcode in on the site, and it will give a guide price. My car (Citroen Picasso) could apparently be rented for £6 per hour, or £32 per day.

The car has to be less than 8 years old, and maintained in good order, but insurance for the rental is organised by whipcar, as part of the deal.

Having decided to go for it, you put the times and dates when the car is available, and sit back. You get a notification when someone attempts to book, and have 1 hour to get back to them with a yes or no.

There were around 6 cars in the Poole area when I looked. Renters have to have no recent crashes or more than 6 license points, and similar to ebay, the system works on the basis of building trust. There is an added twist of fines for either cancelling a booking (full cost if less than 24 hours), or returning the car late. And if the owner is not present at agreed pickup and dropoff time, then they get fined. £25 a time.

This last condition was sadly the killer for me. The reason the cars are on the drive is because my wife walks to work, and I cycle when I can. So more often than not, there is no-one here.

But if anyone else does take up doing one of these schemes, and wants to share the experience, it would be great to hear.

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